1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an equalization device and method of a mobile communication system and, in particular, to a device and method for iterative inter-cell interference cancellation and channel equalization in the mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a mobile terminal performs channel estimation for the serving cell and a predetermined number of interfering cells at a predetermined period (e.g. 512 Tc) in a mobile communication system. The mobile terminal calculates the equalization coefficient of the chip level equalizer for the serving cell with the channel estimation value of the serving cell and the recent channel estimation value of the interfering cell such that the chip level equalization coefficient is set as equalization filter coefficient. The equalizer performs chip level equalization operation with a predetermined number of samples input by an input sample buffer. After equalization, the serving cell performs descrambling and Orthogonal Variable Spreading Factor (OVSF) code despreading on the signal to be transmitted.
Such a conventional equalizer mitigates the interference by applying the channel estimation information of the interfering cell to the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) chip equalization coefficient derivation process. That is, the conventional equalizer is used to mitigate rather than cancel the inter-cell interference completely and has a limit in the level of improvement of Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) and throughput.